by Jeannine Anderson

Created on: December 15, 2008   Last Updated: April 18, 2012

Even the ancients knew that a fresh coat of paint can completely change the ambiance and style of a room. The manufacture and use of paint has been going on for thousands of years with early versions being made from clays, plants, minerals, milk, even blood. These products were, for the most part, benign though also very susceptible to the environment and limited in color selection. Heavy duty chemical and metal additives came in to play in modern products as industry took up the challenge of making more colorful, durable paints.

Volatile organic compounds, VOCs, are primary among modern chemical additives and they can be found in thousands of modern products among them paints and painting supplies, pesticides, household cleaning supplies, even furnishings. VOCs are carcinogenic, and continue to off-gas from their base product for years after use or application, adding to an environment that is increasingly more polluted, inside and out. So how easy is it to do a green paint job at home, given how ubiquitous VOCs are?

Recent trends in lowering the impact of manufacturing and use of paints, paint thinners, stains, among many other building materials have marked a return to some of those earlier, more benign ingredients. Combined with more durable, modern ingredients low or zero-VOC paints are being supplied to retailers by a growing list of manufacturers, offering consumers a fresh coat of paint, and a fresh breath of air to go with it. Low or zero-VOC paints are now available from the big home supply stores as well as most major paint stores.

Proper cleanup and disposal of paints and painting tools and supplies is also important for our environment. Avoid oil based paints and painting supplies. They are more volatile and polluting than latex based products. If you are painting with latex based paints using rollers and brushes, use an absorbent material like cardboard, rags or newspapers and paint onto it whatever is left on the tool. The rollers and absorbent materials can then be left outside or in the garage, safely away from children and pets, to dry out completely. Once dry they can then be disposed of in your regular garbage can.

Brushes will need to be further cleaned up with water to be reused at another time. Use two buckets of water, one to wash and one to rinse the brushes. Work mostly in the wash bucket, until you see less pigment is running from the brush when pressed against the side of the bucket. Hold the handle of the brush between your palms,

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